


Pride

by reminiscingintherain



Series: Pride [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Pride, Wordplay Fic Challenge 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-19 05:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19350436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscingintherain/pseuds/reminiscingintherain
Summary: I said, 'hey, it's alright,Does it make you feel alive?Don't look back,Live your life,Even if it's only for tonight...'





	Pride

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you as always to the wonderful [Lynda](http://wait4ever.tumblr.com/) and [Katie](http://larrymaybe22.tumblr.com/) for their swift beta-work on this.
> 
> And a huge thanks to the mods (aka Sus) for their awesome work too.
> 
>  
> 
> _This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "foot". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt,[click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/foot), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt)._

"You ready?"

Louis took a deep breath as he finished tying up the double knot on his laces, before he stood up.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he said with a firm nod. "Let's do this."

Harry took his hand and led Louis out of the house to their waiting car.

"Been a long time coming," Harry said quietly.

"Is it weird that I'm fucking terrified?" Louis murmured.

"Nope." Harry pressed a kiss to Louis' temple. "I think it's perfectly understandable." He smiled reassuringly. "But it's gonna be amazing."

"I hope so," Louis said shakily. "It always look like it's amazing."

The car weaved in and out of the streets, eventually pulling up in a quieter side road.

"We're here," the driver called back.

"Thanks, Rory," Harry replied, before he looked at Louis. "Let's do this, yeah?"

Louis took another deep breath, and then followed Harry out of the car.

"Hello lads," Liam greeted them with a bright smile. "Glad you made it." He glanced down at their feet. "I absolutely love your shoes."

"Chucks," Louis mumbled.

"Louis' a little nervous," Harry said quietly.

"I think we all are," Zayn replied, pulling Louis into a gentle hug.

"Yeah, but the rest of you haven't had your image portrayed as a fucking homophobe," Louis muttered, squeezing Zayn tightly. "I literally feel sick."

"You're gonna be grand, Tommo," Niall assured him. "We're all there, we're all gonna look out for you."

"I'll even hold your hand," Harry offered. "I know you don't got cooties," he added with a wink.

"If I have, you definitely have," Louis gave a soft smile, before he slipped his arm around Harry's waist and took yet another deep breath, bracing himself. "Okay. Let's go find this ridiculous truck they want us on."

"It's definitely going to be a statement," Niall commented. "I saw it on my way in."

"How the fuck did you manage to get through the crowds wearing that?" Liam asked in disbelief.

"I didn't?" Niall raised an eyebrow. "I brought this with me in a bag, changed, then threw my bag in the boot of your car, Leemo."

"How did I not notice?" Liam looked at Zayn for an answer.

"Don't ask me, babe," Zayn shrugged.

"You were too wrapped up in Zayner to even realise I'd arrived," Niall rolled his eyes in amusement. "But it's fine." He looked at Louis. "Did you say that Lotts is meeting us there, to help out with the makeup? Cos I gotta say, we're looking incredibly plain at the moment."

"Speak for yourself, Niall," Harry sniffed.

"Yeah, Ni," Louis nodded. "She sent me a load of photos last night of everything she's bringing. All the glitter you can imagine."

"We'll be seeing that for weeks," Zayn sighed. "I only just got rid of the evil stuff that was still lingering after the party we had for Harry's 21st."

"That was four years ago," Harry said flatly. "You must have had glitter in the house again at some point since then."

"Not really my thing, babe."

They were soon met by Paul and Lottie, who got them onto a waiting bus and sat on a row of chairs.

"I brought in reinforcements," Lottie told them with a smirk, before she looked over her shoulder, where Gemma, Fizzy, Doniya, and Ruth appeared.

"So we see," Louis chuckled. "You girls all gonna go wild with the sparkles and the rainbows?"

"Are you kidding?" Gemma demanded. "I've been dying to slap some makeup on little bro's face since he got big enough to stop me before!"

"Oh hell, Lotts," Harry sighed. "Did you really have to bring  _ her _ into it?" he asked, glaring at his sister.

"Oi!"  Gemma retorted. "Remember that you're not the only one with Mum on speed dial!"

The rest of the girls chuckled and spread out, with Fizzy stepping behind Niall.

"I'm your honorary sister today," she told him with a wink at the mirror.

"You trying to say you're not normally my little sister, Fizz?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Fizzy grinned and blushed, gently pushing at his shoulder.

"You know it, Horan," she replied.

The next twenty minutes passed in a blur of makeup, glitter, sibling banter, and laughter, as the girls all carefully but quickly applied the rainbow-coloured face paint and accompanying sparkles.

"I think you're ready," Lottie finally declared. "I still hate you for how long your eyelashes are when I have to wear the fake fuckers, but I think you look pretty damn awesome. Definitely more than suitable for your first Pride."

"Yeah, alright, rub it in," Louis grumbled quietly, as he leaned forward to peer at his reflection. "You don't think this is too understated?"

"Babe, the top half of your face is literally a fucking rainbow," Lottie huffed. "How much more do you want?"

"I think there should be more glitter," Harry said, glancing over. "Match his shoes."

"I'm not sure I even have that much glitter," Lottie joked. "Seriously bro. They're ridiculously sparkly!"

"I bought them like it," Louis huffed defensively. "They're from the Pride range that Converse are selling. Haz said they'd be comfy." He paused for a moment. "And they look gay as fuck."

"Exactly," Harry nodded seriously. "Thought you'd appreciate the comfy-ness, darling."

"And I do," Louis agreed. "But also, yes. More glitter please."

Another ten minutes, and they all decided they had enough colour and glitter to hold their heads up in the parade.

"Paul's gonna get you onto the float," Gemma told them. "There's a little bit that you can all hide in - it's not very big, Ni, sorry - until you pop out with confetti cannons and all that shit." She smiled softly. "We're all gonna be on the ground, walking. We'll make sure we keep in sight of the float, so if you need to, you can find us."

"We're all so proud of all of you," Doniya piped up. "And you know that this is going to go completely wild, right?"

"Yeah, we know," Zayn chuckled, looking at the rest of the boys. "But I wouldn't be surprised if this goes even bigger than we're expecting it to."

"I'd be more surprised if it winds up being low-key," Ruth smirked. "Now, all of you. Move your backsides before Paul has to come fetch you."

"It's nice, having the old gang back together again," Liam grinned. "I saw Caroline earlier."

"Caz is out there," Zayn nodded. "She and Brooklyn are marching too."

"And they're coming to the after party?" Harry checked.

"Of course," Liam nodded. "Zayn made sure when they spoke earlier."

They filed down the corridor of the bus, which had moved while they were being made up, and been pulled in alongside the float they would be riding on. They could hear the crowds that were gathering chattering away as they made their way to the start point of the parade, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

Silently, the five men filed into the small area of the float, glancing around and taking their seats, as Paul checked on them one last time, before he shut the door carefully. They looked at each other, and linked hands without really thinking about it.

"We're totally gonna ace this, right?" Niall asked, already sounding a little shaky. "And it's gonna be worth it?"

"It's definitely a big, in-your-face, bolshy as fuck way to announce our return," Harry shrugged a shoulder. "I'm not really sure how else we could've done it."

"We're not exactly the quiet sort, are we?" Louis chuckled. "It was always going to have to be huge."

"And this is multi-purpose," Zayn nodded, letting go of Louis' hand to rub at his rainbow-coloured hair. "What better way to state our positions in the community, than at the biggest Pride we can find?"

Louis grimaced slightly. Harry leaned in, pressing a kiss to Louis' temple.

"They're gonna accept you, love," he murmured reassuringly. "I promise you."

"I think I just wanna get out there now," Louis sighed.

"Are we all clear on how this is going to work?" Liam asked. "When our cue is?"

"Payno, we went through it about thirty times last night," Niall glared. "We'll manage it. We'll all be there. We can all handle stepping out when we hear the right song starting."

"They've definitely got the rerecorded version?" Harry asked Liam. "With the he/him pronouns?"

"I made sure myself," Liam promised. "There will be no shes, girls, or hers, in any of our songs that will be played at incredibly high volume as we dance around on this float through the streets of London."

"I'm not gonna be dancing," Louis immediately protested. "You can dream on, Payno."

"You can bop," Liam sighed. "Everyone's used to that."

"Okay," Louis nodded and relaxed again, as the truck lurched into motion.

"How much longer are we gonna be in here, do you think?" Niall asked, his voice getting a little strained.

"We're moving now," Zayn reassured him with a gentle squeeze to his knee. "It won't be long."

"Paul said it would be about five minutes between moving off, and our cue," Harry said gently. "We're here though, Ni. We'll look after you."

"Always have done, haven't we?" Louis nudged Niall gently. "Not gonna change now."

"I know," Niall nodded, letting out a slow breath. "Thanks, lads. I'm glad we worked shit out to be here now."

"You make it sound like we were the ones who had the problems, Nialler," Liam chuckled.

"Yeah, well, we're in an enclosed space, so I'd really rather not think about all the dickheads who've made shit so hard for us over the past ten years," Niall said quickly. "It'll get my blood pressure up, and then I'll feel even worse."

"Valid point," Zayn jumped in. "Try and think about calming stuff. Soothing oceans. A gentle breeze through a field. Your fingers on a guitar."

"Don't bring up fingers or guitars," Niall grumbled. "Shawn did something very inappropriate before I left."

"Isn't he in Canada?" Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Remember that amazing invention called the internet?" Niall snarked.

"Okay, let's calm things down again," Harry stepped in. "The music's getting louder. Our cue is coming up." Louis tightened his grip on Harry's hand, taking a deep slow breath. "You ready for this, darling?" Harry asked him quietly.

"You know what?" Louis smiled brightly. "I really fucking am."

_ My mother told me I should go and get some therapy _  
_ I asked the doctor 'can you find out what is wrong with me? _  
_ I don't know why I want to be with every boy I meet _  
_ I can't control it _  
_ Yeah, I know it's taking over me _  
_ I'm going crazy _  
_ Can't contain it _  
_ So tell me just what I should do?' _

The screams had increased as soon as the song had started to play, as fans in among the crowd recognised the music, and then the change in the pronouns. With one final reassuring look at each other, they all took a deep breath and stood up, as the section of the float slid upwards, revealing the five of them standing there hand in hand - decked in rainbows and glitter, the words 'PROUD' emblazoned across their chests. As the volume level increased, they all began to smile as they stepped forward onto the float properly, taking their places at the microphones, confetti cannons shooting glittery ticker tape all over the place.

_ She said, 'hey, it's alright, _  
_ Does it make you feel alive? _  
_ Don't look back _  
_ Live your life _  
_ Even if it's only for tonight.' _  
_ She said, 'hey, it's alright, _  
_ If it makes you feel alive...' _

"Good afternoon, London!" Harry yelled, throwing one fist into the air.

"Happy Pride!" Louis added with a huge grin.

Niall grabbed his mic off the stand and sashayed closer to the edge as he winked at the crowds.

_ Went to a party just after the doctor talked to me, _  
_ I met a guy, I took him in up to the balcony _  
_ I whispered something in his ear that I just can't repeat _  
_ He said 'okay' but he was worried what his friends would think _  
_ He's going crazy _  
_ Can't contain it _  
_ He asked me 'what should I do?' oh! _

_ I said, 'hey, it's alright, _  
_ Does it make you feel alive? _  
_ Don't hold back _  
_ Live your life _  
_ Even if it's only for tonight.' _  
_ I said, 'hey, it's alright, _  
_ If it makes you feel alive...' _

Louis took a deep breath as the other four managed to squeeze his arms or shoulders reassuringly, while he quickly climbed the steps to the roof of the cab, and threw his head back as he sang.

_ We gotta live before we get older _  
_ Do what we like, we got nothing to lose _  
_ Shake off the weight of the world from your shoulders _  
_ Oh, we've got nothing to prove _

Harry, Zayn, Liam, and Niall all let out loud whoops from the floor of the float, before they returned to singing the rest of the song and interacting with the crowds.

The last line echoed out through the streets of London and Louis gazed around at the Pride parade with an expression of awe and contentment. He finally felt like he was rightfully where he belonged, out in public. There was only one thing left to do. He smiled down at the glittery rainbow Converse on his feet as he jogged down the steps and grabbed hold of Harry's hand, tugging him gently. Harry gave him a slightly confused look, but following anyway, as he always had done.

"Love you, Haz," Louis murmured as they stood together on top of the cab.

"I love you too, Lou," Harry smiled softly, holding his arms awkwardly at his sides so as not to grab hold of the beautiful rainbow-covered man in front of him. "What are you planning on doing now?"

"I thought I'd kiss you, if that's okay?" Louis asked in a soft, shy voice.

"I think I'd be more than okay with that," Harry replied, his eyes twinkling as he lifted his hands to rest lightly on Louis' hips. "Do your worst, Tomlinson."

Louis threw his head back in a loud laugh, before he threw his arms around Harry's shoulders, one hand immediately sliding into his hair and surged up onto his tiptoes, kissing Harry firmly. Harry let out a low hum and slid his arms around Louis' waist properly, holding him close as he kissed back deeply and slowly. The screams of the parade got louder and louder, while the other three carried right on singing.

_ I said, 'hey, it's alright, _  
_ If it makes you feel alive...' _

**Author's Note:**

> [[Rebloggable tumblr post](https://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/post/185841947510/pride-reminiscingintherain-t)]


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